Tyler Acres - Demigod
by applexeve
Summary: Tyler Matthew Acres, a boy with a very unlucky background, finds himself in a sticky situation that involves a new half-goat best friend, two old ladies of doom, and a mysterious voice in his head. (This is only chapter one.) Rated T just in case.
1. I Fight The Librarians Of Doom

Prologue

WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH

My name is Tyler Matthew Acres. I am 13 years old, and according to the records, still live at the Stanley Juvenile Detention Center. But that, like everything else in my current situation, is a lie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a felon or anything. I am, on the other hand, a demigod. Yep, I know you think I'm bonkers, but just hear me out. This book is my story, but it could be yours too. Don't let that happen. The word "demigod" might sound awesome, but it's pretty much code for "a person who almost dies a lot". Entertaining, yes. Safe, not so much.

The beginning of the end of my life, my mortal life, that is, began around a year ago. It is imperative that no one reads this book, shares this book, tells about this book, or even gives this book to anyone else without a nightlight. They could appear at anytime, anywhere, anyhow. They could be your best friend, your worst enemy, even your dog. Don't. Trust. Anyone. After reading this, it just isn't safe anymore. So spend your life wisely and be sure to watch your back.

1

I FIGHT THE EVIL LIBRARIANS

OF DOOM

Nothing sucks more than being chased by a crazy librarian. Well, except being chased by two crazy, immortal, fire-breathing librarians who want to force you to read _Gone with the Wind__._

It all started when I innocently strolled into a book institution to find a novel about Greek mythology. Yeah, I know. Weird. But trust me, just because I was in the Stanley Juvenile Detention Center doesn't mean I was free from school history reports. In fact, being in the SJDC was just like school, except you were there 24/7, all year long. Yippee.

After my entire Section, a.k.a Group of Neanderthals, walked in after me, the automatic doors slid shut. For some reason, it made me feel trapped. The Superintendent and his three dorky sidekicks stood around us, herding me and the others into the center of the library. He began to sort us into smaller Sections and assign us an Assistant Superintendent to make this trip as "fun and educational as possible". Basically, if there was any trouble, we wouldn't get out of that library alive.

"Tyler? Go to Mr. Ross please." He pointed at me and then to a short, quirky man with a curly mustache and a potbelly. I trudged over and stood, back against the wall, with a line of five other students. I looked to my right and saw a kid about my age, thirteen, with a crutch and a sloppy hair-do, as if he had just rolled out of bed. His shirt was way too big for his lean frame and his cargo pants looked like they would fit a cow. I immediately felt sorry for him. His parents had probably just handed him a suitcase and sent him here for no reason at all. He didn't look like the kind of guy who would do anything stupid.

When I thought about it, I guess I didn't look like I belonged here either. My tall, thin appearance didn't exactly fit the bizarre fugitive description. My mom had always said that the way my bronze hair matched my eyes and tan skin was so "adorable" and my smile was absolutely "charming". Those choice words weren't about to gain me any extra Criminal Points.

I sighed. My life was so messed up. All I did was shoot a rubber band at the principal. And made him get an eye patch. It wasn't my fault! Well, I suppose I did take a golf cart, but it was just so I could chase the bear that I happened to let out of the zoo. I was doing them a favor!

A hand shook me out of my memories. I blinked at it for a few moments before I completely snapped out of my daydream.

"Hey. I'm Fernando Autumn, but you can just call me Fern. You're Tyler Acres, right?" The hand belonged to the boy with the crutches. Despite his condition, he smiled and looked like the crutch wasn't even there.

I shook his hand warily. I hadn't met anyone at this stupid place that I could trust, including anyone that already knew who I was when I'd never seen him before.

"What are you here for?" I realized it sounded both mean and rude, so I tried to make it sound more of a light-hearted question at the end.

Fern didn't notice. "I spray-painted a billboard and fell, but I managed to only break one of my legs." He gave me a guilty looking grin. "You?"

"I took out my principal's eye and chased a wild bear with a stolen golf cart." The moment I said it, I realized that I sounded completely insane. "Well, the eye was an accident and the bear wasn't my fault, and I just stole the cart to get the bear back and…" I sighed. There was no easy way to explain why I did it. I was impulsive like that sometimes. To catch a bear, you have to break a few zoo caravans and dispatch a few eyeballs.

Fern did the unexpected. He laughed. A full and hearty laugh, like injuring teachers and chasing escaped bears with stolen vehicles was the funniest thing he had ever heard in his life.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just…" He continued laughing, even harder than before. When he finally managed to get a breath, almost everyone in the library was shushing him or glaring with pointed expressions. "So, you're telling me you took out a school administrator's eye, stole a golf cart, and chased a wild bear with it across the highway? Wow. You are totally awesome."

I smiled. Fern made me feel proud of my weird achievements, not disowned. Usually, if I told anyone else that me, a 13-year-old boy, amputated his teacher's eye, let a wild animal roam free in the Houston traffic, and stole a cart to hunt down a bear, they would deem me psychotic.

I hadn't realized where we were going until our team stepped into a large, circular room. It was amazing. Books lined the walls, covering every available space except the windows between the top of the shelves and the beginning of the domed ceiling. Bright sunlight shined all over the room, showing delicate dust mites floating through the musty air. The smell of ancient books wafted around the room, combined with the scent of healthy grass and spring. I noticed that the strange grassy meadow scent came from Fern. I guess he really liked the woods or something.

Delinquents began searching for books. I wasn't sure where to start. Finding a Greek mythology book seemed impossible in the lake of novels on the floor or the disorganized bookshelves.

_938.7_

I stumbled and looked behind me. Who had said that? There was no one there. The voice… it had sounded like a snake, except it spoke English. Yep. I was going crazy after all.

_938.7_

There it was again. It was trying to tell me something, but I had a feeling I didn't want to know why.

Then it hit me. Maybe listening to the voices in my head wasn't a bad idea after all. I slowly turned to my left and tapped Fern on the shoulder, motioning him to come with me. If I got caught leaving the group, I at least wanted to have an alibi.

As we quietly made our way around the tall rows of shelves, I wondered if Fern was even behind me anymore. I was surprised at how silently he navigated with the crutches and became suspicious of how long he had actually had them, but I supposed that if he had lied to me, then he had a good reason.

The building was like a maze, except a maze full of books. I shuddered. I didn't need to be reminded of my dyslexia, but here I was, in a library. Not the best field trip I've ever had, but I've definitely had worse. Like the zoo with the bear and the cart. That had been the 8th time I had gotten booted out of a learning facility. Not fun.

Fern and I finally made it to the front desk. It felt like a mile long jog to me but he hadn't even broken a sweat. In fact, he was now walking (or crutching, I guess) in front of me. He waited for me beside the desk and gave the two librarians anxious looks. He almost seemed… afraid. Of two old ladies. Who looked exactly alike, down to the last curly gray hair and printed flower on their dresses. This was getting a little weird.

As I marched to the desk, they wore identical creepy smiles, like they just wanted to "eat me up". I felt like they would do just that. They might be tiny and have gray hair and flowery skirts, but nothing could hide the scary darkness in their eyes.

"Would you like to read the library special for this month?" The librarians recited it together like they had been practicing all morning and brought an enormous book on a platform. Of course, it was _Gone with the Wind__, _or at least that's what the huge letters on the plaque said on the base of the platform. It was a dyslexic's worst nightmare since William Shakespeare.

"Uh… not really." I wasn't sure which one I should address. They stood right next to each other, like I was seeing double. "Ladies… do you happen to know where 938.7 is?" I wasn't sure, but I thought it might be a Dewey Decimal system number. If I was insane, at least it was helping me with my academic career.

They looked at each other and nodded, as if they had just agreed on a plan of attack. To be honest, I have never been so scared of two little old ladies in my life.

"Just follow us dear. But are you sure you don't want to try it out?" They turned their cold, black eyes on us before handing me the ten-pound book against my will. The ladies circled around the reception desk and Fern and I reluctantly followed them into the forest of books.

We walked for a few minutes down staircases and around corners until we were in the darkest part of the library possible. It was really starting to freak me out. I hoped these elderly women weren't going to knife us or something.

We stopped abruptly and I had to keep my balance so I wouldn't fall over. They rotated around, as if part of one body, and smiled again. One of them selected a dusty looking manuscript and handed it to me. The book was almost as heavy as the brick-like one I was already carrying. It was an ancient hardback. On the front read: HET ACNIETN GEREK WROLD: SYMRETY ERVLEAED. I sighed. Why did dyslexia have to be so hard?

"Uh, can you read it? It's too dark for me." I handed it to Fern, deciding not to tell him about my dyslexia quite yet. If he kept secrets about his crutches, I would have some too.

He blew away the dust. "Okay. The Ancient Greek World: Mystery Revealed." Fern looked on edge. I thought he might just start breaking down right there.

"Perfect. Just what I need for my report."

"Uh, Tyler? Where'd the old ladies go?" I looked up. Fern was dangerously pale. Sure enough, they were gone.

"Wha-!" Something lashed out from behind a book shelf, catching me straight in the chest. I was thrown back and smashed against something hard. I lost grip on _Gone with the Wind_ and heard a yelp from Fern.

"OW!" Oops.

My vision was spotted and my thoughts were swimming, but I had enough brain cells left to gather what was going on. 1) The creepy grannies lead us to a remote part of the library. 2) They disappear. 3) Something attacks me. And…

Was that a goat holding a sword? That was plenty of evidence. I was definitely, completely, utterly nuts. Maybe a few marbles fell out when I was shot backwards.

I might have some bats in the belfry, but I knew I was not going to die at the hands of two old ladies in a library. I slowly raised, my sight clearing, and felt a pain in my chest. Broken rib.

_Touch it. Your chest._

Great. So even the mystical voices wanted to cause me pain.

_Just do it!_

_Okay! Okay!_ I thought. Ever so gently, I touched my ribs and waited. For a second, nothing happened. _There goes the last trustable thing on the planet. _

Then, I exploded.

Bright white light blinded my eyes, but I could feel my rib mending. The pain even faded. It was like nothing had even happened.

Black and white dots filled my eyesight for a few seconds and everything was dark. When my vision adjusted, the first thing I noticed was a pair of pants. Fern's pants. Oh, god… this was going to be awkward.

I screamed and shut my eyes tight as something slammed against the wall beside me. After the dust cleared, what I saw left me in shock.

It was Fern. With fuzzy carpet pants on. This couldn't be right.

"Here." He moaned and weakly tossed me a long, sharp, metal object. A sword. I picked it up.

Crap. How was I going to use this!? And why was Fern wearing hairy pants? Where did the old ladies go? What was that light? I had to be dreaming.

_Consider this a favor._

The sword grew hot in my hand and blazed like the sun. I dropped it and shut my eyes. After the light disappeared, I opened them again. In place of the sword was a glowing gold bow and arrow.

What.

_How is this any better!?_ I asked, not really expecting an answer. I didn't get one. Apparently the eerie voice was done helping.

Cautiously, I picked up the bow and slid the quiver onto my back like I've seen people do in movies. The bow felt perfect in my hand, like it was made specifically for me; I had no doubt it was. Somehow, I knew that the arrow goes there; you pull this, prop that, set this like that, and presto. Arsenal of flying gold magic projectiles.

A roar echoed out of the darkness. The shadows moved, as if the monster was a shadow itself.

"Oh, and what is that? A bow? How thoughtful. I will keep it as a toothpick to use after I eat you, cursed demigod." Its voice sounded like a crowd of snake-people, all speaking at once. The building shook as footsteps pounded on the cement floor. Books fell randomly on the ground, but one I recognized in particular.

It was HET ACNIETN GEREK WROLD: SYMRETY ERVLEAD. In the rush of my panic, I flung it at Fern.

"Ow! Would you stop that!?" He complained. Fern looked around and rubbed his head, as if finally realizing what was going on.

"What is that thing? And why are you a goat?" I had to yell over the sound of breaking concrete, roaring, and falling shelves.

Fern made a bleating sound. "A satyr! I'm a satyr!"

"A-? Whatever! What is it!?" I held my bow at the ready, wondering when it was going to attack.

"A satyr?" He looked confused.

"No, you idiot! The monster!" I felt like I was going to smack his satyr face if he didn't tell me what was planning to eat me right that second.

He seemed to remember that I was about to be gobbled up and my bow used as a toothpick. "A hydra! They're multi-headed monsters that breathe fire and stuff!" Fern madly flipped pages in the book and landed on one. He held up the book and pointed to a picture of a lizard with nine heads. I gave him the thumbs up and went back to freaking out.

How did my life end up like this? I was just a normal kid from Houston, Texas. No monsters, no goat-people, and especially no unusual healing powers. I wasn't a whacked-up delinquent. It was never supposed to turn out this way. But here I was, a crazy fugitive, running from a hydra of all things, accompanied by my new half-goat best friend and the all-powerful voice in my mind. That totally didn't sound odd in the least.

Another monstrous rumble made the floor shake. It was getting closer, and fast. The steps were reverberating around the chamber. _Please work. Please._

I let go. The tension of the bowstring was released, throwing the arrow into the dark. Perfect shot. Midair, it transformed into a sharp, gold knife. The monster stopped. For a second, everything was quiet. The silence was interrupted by a scream almost as shrill and pointed as the blade. What I witnessed next was almost enough for me to imitate the shriek.

A big, long snake head landed directly in front of me, completely still. I clapped my hand to my mouth to avoid screaming.

"Ugh! Foolish half-blood! You cannot defeat me!" The voices hissed in the shadows. A dry crackling sound vibrated around the basement. "You have only made me stronger!"

"Uh, Tyler? I forgot to mention. Every time you cut off one of the heads, two grow back." He made a sheepish noise, which was ironic considering he was part goat.

"Well, nice time for remembering, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and focused on my target, which had emerged from the darkness.

The hydra was massive. It towered above me by a few yards, its heads having to duck so they wouldn't crash into the ceiling. I guess it had about 10, but it's hard to focus on counting when you're about to be eaten for lunch by an old-lady-turned-reptile.

"I know! How about barbeque?" It said. My stomach lurched.

Hot fire blasted from all of the heads at once, almost making me a burn mark on the pavement. By pure luck, I managed to dodge it. I wasn't so sure if I would be so lucky the next time.

I notched another projectile. On the arrow shaft, it read something along the lines of FIRE BOMB. That sounded pretty good about now.

I withdrew my hand from the bow string and let the arrow fly. It collided directly into the chest of the hydra, exploding on impact. Time seemed to slow down as it zipped through the air and connected. First, there was a bright flash of light, followed by a sound like thunder booming. The monster was hit by the shrapnel of the arrow as well as a hot burst of its own medicine. Fire surged up the scaly armor, leaving it tarnished and smoking. It traveled to the necks and up to the heads, which were screaming in rage.

"How dare you, miniscule demigod! I am the Hydra! I am-"

"Vaporizing?" I finished, slinging the bow across my back and smirking. "I thought I might have some barbeque as well."

"Huh?" She barely had time to look down with one of her heads when she burst into gold powder, still screeching with insults and pain. I coughed as it covered my face and the front of my shirt.

That's just perfect. I needed to end my day covered in scaly old lady dust. I wiped some off of my eyes and looked down at where the hydra had been standing moments before.

In the center of the floor sat the separated hydra head, the giant mouth still open in agony. Its glassy orbs reflected the tiny bit of light that came through the door. What really caught my eye were the fangs. They were still dripping with venom, like it was about to magically come alive and sink its teeth into my skin. I shivered. In one quick move, I snapped the two huge fangs off and put them into my pockets. I might use them later. Hopefully they had some kind of mystical property.

Fern was astonished. I had to help him stand up so he wouldn't pass out.

"You alright?" I asked, wary to let him stand without support.

"I think so." For the first time, I noticed tiny horns in his hair, sticking just above the top. They would be invisible unless you knew his secret. I smiled. So he really didn't need the crutch.

Fern looked me up and down. He appeared frustrated. "We really need to get you to camp. This is huge."

I was curious about so-called "camp", but I needed answers. "I'm not moving until you tell me what the heck is going on. What is a demi-blood or whatever? And what is a satyr? Or a hydra? And why was it two old ladies? Where did the bow and arrow come from? How did I heal myself? What is this talking thing in my head?" My voice rose in hysterically with every sentence until Fern clapped me on the shoulder.

"I should let Chiron explain that. He's a… Well, I guess you'll find out." I was relieved when he put on his gold-covered pants. His hooves were starting to freak me out.

"Are you coming or not?" He grinned and trotted up the stairs. I chortled and ran after him, still holding the book we had come so far to get and almost lost our lives over. I finally had a real friend, even if he was half goat. I immediately knew from that moment on that no matter how far I went or how many schools I got kicked out of, I would never be alone again.


	2. When Flight Attendants Go Bad

I still don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but if someone has any ideas on how that could be possible, send me a review. I love reviews. :)

2

WHEN FLIGHT ATTENDANTS GO BAD

_Library Basement Mystery. Missing Fugitives. Books or Crooks?_

I read the headlines of various magazines, all displaying the events of that day from an outsider's point of view. The gold hydra dust? Just sand. The cracks in the concrete? Bad foundation. Kidnappers and victims? Obviously Fern and I were the criminals and the two old hags drew a "Get out of Jail Free" card. Life wasn't fair.

"Go fish." I sighed and put down the newspaper. Fern absent-mindedly picked up a card from the makeshift pond and placed it in his hand.

"I got nothing." He put his cards face down on the table and looked out the window. We were well above the clouds now and the fasten seatbelts sign was turned off. Flight attendants in crisp blue uniforms patrolled about the plane, handing out snacks and ear buds and pillows.

I wasn't sure how we even got on board. Every time I asked a question about how they let two thirteen-year-old delinquents onto a plane unsupervised with a bow and arrow, the answer was the Mist; and every time I asked about the Mist, the answer was Chiron. This "Chiron" guy was starting to sound pretty cool, especially because Fern wasn't going to finish his sentence about what Chiron was. It was a surprise.

"Okay, folks! About forty-five minutes 'til landing time! Give a hand to our wonderful flight attendants and crew for a safe and comfortable trip!" A crackly voice spoke over the intercom and the seatbelt sign lit up again.

Fern didn't look safe _or_ comfortable. Anyone could tell that Fern was getting edgy. Whenever the slightest bump happened or a kid screamed, he started eating the cards and inhaling any bag of peanuts he could find, and I mean that literally. It was like he was too busy to chew the plastic wrap on the outside.

To be honest, I had no idea where we were going. Fern said something about New York and then ate three aces. They were apparently the best.

Then, an idea crossed my mind. Just for a second, but it was long enough. It was doubt. What if Fern was lying and I was being taken to a mental hospital or something? I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe I was the one who got hit with the book.

"Just trust me, okay?" Fern whispered. I jumped. How did he know what I was thinking about?

"We have an empathy link. It means I can read your emotions, and if you try hard enough, you can read mine too."

Okay. This was officially creepy.

"I am not!" He protested. I looked at him incredulously. He had to be joking.

_We can read each other's minds? _I thought and concentrated.

_Sort of, yeah. You get used to it. _His voice was loud and clear in my head. I made a "Whoa-my-gosh this is so weird" sound that sounded like I was breathing really hard and choking. Fern grinned.

"Hello. May I get you anything today?" I jumped again. Why did people have to keep doing that?

A tall flight attendant was pushing a drinks cart down the aisle. She had a bird-like face, a sharp nose, and black eyes like all of the other stewardesses. Her name tag read "Hello, My Name is PHONS." I wondered what the heck PHONS was short for. The cuffs of her uniform vest were too short and showed two caramel colored wing tattoos on her wrists. I had seen them on another crew member when she gave Fern 7 packs of peanuts…

_Uh, Fern look at her wrists._

_Wha-! Oh no._

He seemed to realize something was up. A light bulb turned on in his mind.

"Yes, can I have four packs of peanuts and some water?" Fern asked, smiling as nonchalantly as he could. I wondered what he was up to. The stewardess poured water in a small cup and handed it to Fern with some napkins that said Δ AIRLINES. Phons said she would be right back with the peanuts and he nodded. When she disappeared into the back of the plane, Fern started babbling.

"Slow down!"

"Okay. So the tattoos- I've seen them before. They look just like this." He opened HET ACNIETN GEREK WROLD: SYMRETY ERVLEAD and paged through it until he found a particular picture. I wondered why he had the book, but right now, I didn't particularly care as long as he figured out what that flight attendant was. All I knew was that she definitely was _not_ human.

The picture of choice confounded me. A griffin. The wings were caramel colored, just like her tattoos. Her bird-like face suddenly made sense, as well as the weird PHONS nickname. In parenthesis under the picture and title said (GRYPHONS, GRYPS). I suppose PHONS was better than GRYPS. Having a name like "Grips" would just be awkward.

"Well why is she an airplane stewardess!? Don't monsters have better things to do than get jobs as librarians and flight attendants?" I asked, hysterical. "Couldn't they do anything better than mess up my life?"

"I'm not sure, but you're not the only one. This happens to demigods all the time. Consider yourself lucky." Fern said. There it is again: Demigod. What did it mean?

"We will be landing in thirty minutes! Please remain seated." The crackly voice said again. Thirty minutes. Half an hour for the griffin, or griffin_s_, to attack us or for us to attack them. This was going to be interesting.

_I have an idea._ Ferns voice spoke in my head. _Come on._

Fern was already getting up and motioning for me to come with him. So much for remaining seated.

We tiptoed to the tiny bathroom at the back of the plane.

_This is your idea? Nice. Let's attack them with my super-duper lavatory powers. _I rolled my eyes.

_No. It's called Iris Messaging, IM for short._

_Like texting? Great plan. _

He ignored me. _It's this thing that happens when you make a rainbow. I don't know exactly how it works, but if you toss one of these, _he held up a gold coin that was a little bigger than a quarter, _into a rainbow, Iris answers and you can talk to anybody you want. It's hard to explain. Just watch. _

Fern opened the folding bathroom door and squeezed in. I came in after him. There was barely enough room to not suffocate. How were we going to randomly make a rainbow without crushing each other to death?

Fern turned on the faucet and got some water in his hands. He put his palms under one of those strange dryers that just blast hot air. It turned on and the water started to slosh around in his hands. Other than that, nothing happened.

_Reflect the light over here. _I understood now.

Standing by the sink, I took a fang out of my pocket and held it up to the light bulb. It shined off of the perfect surface and made a beam of light. By turning the fang, the light moved until it was passing through the evaporating molecules of water in the air. A miniature rainbow appeared and I smiled.

"Hello. This is Iris. Please insert one drachma to call."

With one hand, Fern tossed the coin into the misty rainbow. I was sure it was just going to pass through, but it vanished, like passing through a portal.

"Thank you. Have a nice day." The voice disappeared.

"Chiron, Camp Half-blood." Fern said, shakily. I thought that he might start eating the tiny travel bars of soap off of the counter.

After a few seconds, a swirling image appeared in the rainbow. It was a man in a wheelchair. He looked completely normal. His brown beard was freshly trimmed and his eyes glistened with happiness and age. "Hello? Oh, Fern! And who is this?" He smiled.

"This is Tyler Acres, sir. He's a demigod. We're in a kind of sticky situation…" He looked around the bathroom like a griffin was going to float through the wall at any moment.

I explained. "We're on an airplane with a bunch of griffin ladies. And I have no idea what's going on."

Chiron chuckled. "Well you will soon. I will dispatch some demigods for rescue. Are you being attacked?"

"Not exactly, but I think they can sense him. They've been able to see through the mist all along." Fern was shaking. Chiron looked completely serious now, traces of happiness gone. It was almost scary. I could see the dignity and skill just by looking at him and I had no trouble believing he was every bit as amazing as I thought he was.

"Okay, the rescue squad will be there in just a few moments. They are tracking your flight and dispatching chariots right now. I will see you soon, Tyler." His eye glistened once more and the rainbow disappeared.

This was going to be the coolest camp _ever_. Chariots? Weird rainbow communication? Monsters and bags of peanuts? Magic scary guys in wheelchairs? Sign me up.

Fern nodded and we walked out of the bathroom- and directly into PHONS.

"Please shut off your cellphones and remain seated." She said, but her dark eyes said otherwise. She knew and heard every word. Phons knew everything. We were screwed.

_CLUNK. _ Something heavy landed on the top of the plane. I smiled. Right on time.

The aircraft started to rotate. Fern and I screamed as we landed on the ceiling.

_OH MY GODS! _Fern was starting to flip out.

_Calm down! You're giving me a migraine! And what's up with the plural 'gods'?_

Fern was hyperventilating. If this guy didn't like heights, he probably didn't like being trapped in an airplane thousands of feet in the air with evil griffins and extreme turbulence. I couldn't blame him.

All of a sudden, a hatch in the top, previously the bottom, of the plane started to open. Icy air was pulling on our shirts. I helped Fern stand up and I kneeled on the floor below the hatch. He stepped onto my shoulders and I groaned. Man, he weighed a ton.

We worked together as a team, like we shared a single mind. We already knew what the plan was. Get out alive.

Fern grabbed hold of the sides of the opening, pushing himself through. And he was gone.

"No!" I reached out, but his foot had just disappeared through the hole. He had been swept away with the wind, probably falling to Earth right now. "No! No, no, no!"

_Wow, chill out dude. I'm fine. _Fern chuckled. I almost had a heart attack. At least my new friend wasn't a stain on the pavement somewhere. _Come out, it's safe._

I pulled myself up through the hatch and caught the wind. Desperately, I clung to the edge but felt my fingers slipping. Wind was rushing through my hair, making it hard to see. I heard someone screaming, and I was positive that person was me. In one fateful second, I let go and plummeted to my death miles below, the aircraft still spinning sadistically through the sky.

A light breeze drifted through my hair. The world seemed to pause in a second, letting me take in the beauty of the sky. The air was chilling but I didn't mind. I could hardly feel it or anything else; my mind just wanted to sleep.

_Let go_, It told me. _Just let go. Everything is fine. Everything will be okay._

But it wasn't my mind. It was the rescue squad.

"Ow, let go of me! You're choking me! Everything's okay, just relax!" A boy with black hair screamed into my ear.

"Ah! Where am I! Why am I floating?" I started to breathe hard, like a person being tickled. I let go of his neck, but then decided that wasn't the best idea, as was looking down. We were floating about 4,000 feet above the ground on… was that a bird or a horse? Or both?

"Okay, this is too weird. What the heck is going on?"

"You're on my Pegasus, Blackjack. I'm here to save you. We're here to take you guys to camp, so please don't attack me. What's your name?"

"Uh… Tyler. Tyler Acres. You?" The last word came out as a squeak so I cleared my throat.

"Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon at your service." He smiled and his green eyes twinkled. He turned and nodded at the Pegasus, which nodded back. It neighed to another Pegasus which I hadn't noticed at first. On the other bird-horse was a girl with blonde hair and gray eyes with Fern. He gave me the thumbs up and I smiled. Both pegasi began to beat their wings, faster and faster, until we were soaring through the clouds. Percy grinned and made a light laughing sound. The other girl smiled at him, and I could almost sense the sparks. They obviously loved each other.

Before I realized it, we were sinking through the clouds and soaring to our destination. Percy pointed at a large hill by the coast but I couldn't hear anything through the wind.

As we got closer, I noticed just how elaborate it was. The tops of matchbox buildings reflected the light. A huge pine tree towered above all the rest, and on it hung a tiny, golden rectangle. A set of intricately different buildings were formed in the shape of a Greek Ω with a stone fountain and basketball courts in the center. A colosseum-like arena was placed expertly in a field and it looked like there were a few sparring matches going on. Volleyball courts were centered behind a huge baby-blue mansion. Two rivers snaked their way through the camp and in the center of one was a huge lake. Stables were located near a big wooden shack that was decorated in swords and various pieces of armor; behind the two buildings was a gigantic pine forest, complete with an enormous pile of boulders that looked like a fist was emerging from the earth.

It was perfect. Even the way it was laid out… It was the kind of thing I wanted more than anything else in my life. An awesome community of monster butt-kickers and an epic sea-side cabin. I sighed and tried to take it all in at once, but I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"We're here." Percy stated the obvious. "Welcome home."

That did it. I laughed, unable to keep my smile silent anymore. I felt like exploding. My grin was as big as it was going to get. My cheeks had started to burn by the time we got to the ground.

Hooves clopped onto the dry dirt just outside the arch. The forest surrounded us, wrapping us in its woodsy embrace. I slid off of Blackjack and popped my back. You would be surprised how difficult it is riding a Pegasus bare-backed through the clouds.

The arch looked ancient, and I believed it was. Etched across the top was ΣΤΡΑΤΌΠΕΔΟ ΜΙΣΌ ΑΊΜΑ. Wait. Was that…

The letters seemed to change naturally, shifting into different English words in my mind. Whoa.

"Camp… Half-blood? What's that?" I asked, puzzled, reading off of the arch.

Percy looked stunned. "You mean, Fern didn't tell you anything? Do even know what's going on?"

Now that I thought about it, I had absolutely no idea. "Not really."

Percy sighed, exasperated. "Okay. Over the river and through the woods, to Chiron's house we go."

I chuckled and followed him as he passed through the arch with Blackjack, the girl, and a meek-looking Fern. Little did I know, that was the last time I would ever walk out of the camp as a regular mortal ever again.

I had to admit, the last thing I expected was a black demon Clifford.

At first it was only a dark spot on the horizon, but as we went farther into camp, the dot became a demon dog as big as a horse. The second it saw Percy, it ran. Straight for us.

"Uh, Percy? I think someone's looking for you." The animal bounded across the camp so fast that it was just a shadow. A few unfortunate campers barely got out of the way fast enough.

Percy was knocked to the ground. I made a yelping noise, but the girl with blonde hair just laughed, like he got attacked by minions of the devil all day long. _Oh, that? Yeah, just another monster canine from the Netherworld._ _Don't mind him._

"Ha, ha! Stop it! Mrs. O'Leary! Sit!" Percy's response bewildered me. He convulsed on the ground, trying to breathe and not get slobbered to death, but Mrs. O'Leary held him fast until she was done with her greeting. Percy just giggled. I really hoped this wasn't normal.

When Mrs. O'Leary finally gave Percy room to breathe, she had moved onto her next victim: Fern. He only had time for a scream before he was plowed over like a bowling pin. Meanwhile, Percy was getting up, covered in dog saliva and dirt.

"Man, I really with my powers worked on hellhound drool." He smiled and tried to wipe some off, like nothing had ever happened. "Shall we continue?"

I nodded, anxious to leave Mrs. O'Leary before she chose her next prey.

After Fern struggled out from under the dog, he ran faster than I'm sure he never had before. The girl pulled a normal sized dog treat out of her pocket and held out her hand. Mrs. O'Leary licked her entire arm while eating it and she winced, brushing slobber off of her elbows. It was almost comical, watching the enormous black dog with blood red eyes eat a tiny Milk-Bone.

"Who's she?" I pointed to the girl.

Percy's eyes lit up, like he took joy in just saying her name. "Annabeth. She's a daughter of Athena. Speaking of which, have you found out who your parent is yet?"

My parent? I didn't have one. Any, in fact. And Athena… wasn't that a Greek goddess?

"What? I don't have any parents. And what's all this about Greek stuff? It is Greek, right?"

Percy smiled. "Great. At least you know it's Greek. That's a good sign. It is going to be difficult to find your parent though… Now we have to check male _and_ female gods." He trailed off at the end, talking to himself. Meanwhile, I had no pancake-flipping idea what was happening.

Then again, I would stay clueless for an awful long time.


End file.
